Practicing Community-Centric Fundraising, with Maria Rio

In this episode of Let’s Imagine, we welcome Maria Rio — fundraising professional, sector advocate, and host of the Small Nonprofit podcast. With over a decade of experience and lived experience as a former service user, Maria brings a deep understanding of how equity and community can transform traditional fundraising models.

Maria is a strong advocate for Community-Centric Fundraising — a growing movement that reimagines fundraising by placing relationships, equity, and community at the heart of the practice. She has spent the past several years applying these principles to help nonprofits shift from transactional approaches to more authentic, mission-aligned fundraising strategies.

Join us as we discuss how fundraisers and nonprofit leaders can redefine donor relationships, center community voices, and build trust-based fundraising practices — even within resource-constrained environments. We also explore how storytelling, advocacy, and systems thinking intersect with equitable fundraising.

This episode offers practical insights and inspiring examples for those looking to advance justice and deepen community connection through their fundraising work.

Make sure to check out our full episode list. This episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

This podcast was made possible thanks to generous support from our sponsors.

SUPPORTING PARTNER